Easy Pulled BBQ Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe

BBQ Pulled Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe

This pulled BBQ chicken is tangy, sweet, and full of flavor. It is an easy meal that you can just throw in the slow cooker – set it and forget it, right? I love the ease of dinners like this, but it has to taste good too!

I recently came across a slow cooker recipe for pulled BBQ chicken that claimed to be the best. Of course, I needed to try it. I searched a little more, found another recipe with potential and decided to make them at the same time, for comparison sake. (Sometimes I get a little crazy like that.)

The Winning Recipe

While the “best” BBQ chicken may be that person’s favorite recipe (and it was not bad), I actually like the other recipe better. Some of my favorite taste-testers graciously offered their services and they all agreed with me. And so, this recipe went right onto the list of recipes that I feel I must share with you!

Homemade Sauce for Pulled BBQ Chicken

The sauce for this recipe is homemade but still easy. It is just a matter of throwing the ingredients together, then adding it all to the slow cooker.

P.S. I love using slow cooker liners in my slow cookers because the clean-up is so much easier.

If you don’t have molasses, you can try using honey, dark corn syrup, maple syrup, or dark brown sugar instead. I haven’t tried this recipe with substitutions though, so I can’t vouch for the results. 🙂 Let me know how it goes if you try it out.

How to Shred Chicken Fast

Shredding chicken with a stand mixer really only takes a few seconds. Super fast and easy! Yes, you do dirty more dishes, but sometimes it is worth it.

If you don’t feel like using this method or you don’t have a stand mixer, you can also just use a fork, it just takes a bit more time. It’s worth it either way though!

Final Thoughts & Serving Tips

I really like the sweet and tangy flavor of this pulled BBQ chicken sandwich. It definitely doesn’t taste like you just threw in a bottle of store-bought BBQ sauce, and in a good way. Feel free to serve the sandwiches along with your favorite BBQ sauce for more BBQ flavor though. (Here is a fantastic homemade BBQ sauce recipe if you like Sweet Baby Ray’s.)

Serve your pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches with a green salad, fruit, coleslaw, or whatever else you want, and you’ve got an easy, family-friendly meal! Enjoy!

More Sandwich Recipes:

• Meatball Sub Sandwich Recipe with Homemade Alfredo Sauce
• Healthy Bacon, Egg & Cheese Sandwich Recipe
• Pesto Roast Beef Sub Sandwich Recipe

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Easy Pulled BBQ Chicken Slow Cooker Recipe

Sweet, tangy, pulled BBQ chicken that's easy to cook up in the slow cooker.

5 / 5 ( 4 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Serves: 6

Adjust Servings: 6

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Slow Cooker

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 2 pounds fresh boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon Frank's RedHot Sauce
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

• Spread the chopped onion over the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the chicken on top of the onion.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the ketchup, vinegar, mustard, molasses, onion powder, cumin, garlic powder, hot sauce, and salt. Pour the sauce over the chicken.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for about 5 to 6 hours, until the chicken is fork-tender and cooked through.
• Remove chicken and shred it. Then return it to the slow cooker and stir until coated with sauce. Serve with rolls or buns for a delicious sandwich!

Recipe Notes

If you don't have molasses, you can try using honey, dark corn syrup, maple syrup, or dark brown sugar instead. I haven't tried this recipe with substitutions though, so I can't vouch for the results. 🙂

Nutrition

Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 778mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 15g